In a trading update issued on Tuesday (8 October), easyJet said solid fourth-quarter performance fuelled by “robust demand” and investment in operational resilience would likely ensure strong full-year profit, before tax, of between £420 million and £430 million – which falls in the “upper half” of its previous guidance.
EasyJet will deliver its latest full-year results on 19 November, as well as an update on its 2020 priorities.
The carrier said it had weathered the “difficult disruption environment” during the three months to the end of September, picking up business from the strikes afflicting British Airways and Ryanair.
Full-year passenger numbers are expected to come in 8.6% up on last year at 96 million, which easyJet said was driven by a 10.3% increase in capacity to 105 million seats, albeit while driving full-year load factor down 1.4% to 91.5%.
Full-year costs, meanwhile, are expected to increase by around 12% due to the additional capacity, higher fuel costs and adverse foreign exchange effects, even while “partially offset” by improvements in cost per excluding fuel.
EasyJet said operational resilience was a “key driving force” behind its strong performance, mitigating the impact during Q4 of stormy weather in Europe and “technical issues” at Gatwick airport.
The airline’s total fuel bill for the year will run to £1.42 billion, while its foreign exchange hit will increase to around £14 million on last year.
Bookings for Q1 2020 are in line with last year, said easyJet, with full-year 2020 capacity growth likely to run to the “lower end” of its projections.
“EasyJet has continued to perform in line with expectations, despite challenging market conditions,” said Lundgren.
“As a result of our self-help initiatives and the increased demand due to disruption at British Airways and Ryanair, we anticipate achieving headline profit before tax for the full year 2019 of between £420 million and £430 million, in the upper half of our previous guidance range.
“Our implementation of initiatives in the fourth quarter to optimise yield has led to solid revenue performance with total revenue per seat at constant currency set to increase for the full year.
“We have continued to invest in operational resilience, with the programme successfully reducing the impact of disruption on our operations.
“As a result, we expect to report a fall in headline cost per seat for the year, excluding fuel at constant currency.”
